New Rule Proposal:Ebey Lake, statewide freshwater general rules. This change will remove the Ebey Lake entry from the Westside lakes special rules section of the regulation pamphlet.

Why the change is needed:In the past Ebey Lake was managed as a quality fly-fishing destination lake. We last stocked this lake in 1999 with 2,000 cutthroat fry.
There are two separate private properties that anglers must cross to access this lake. 1) The entire shoreline of the lake is privately owned. Angler access to the lake was permitted historically by an agreement between WDFW and the shoreline owner for “use limited to fishermen only & only in season” but the agreement expired in 1962 according to WDFW records. 2) The road that accesses Ebey Lake crosses private property and has been gated by the landowners. Including Ebey Lake under the Westside lakes special rules section of the pamphlet gives anglers a false impression that this is an accessible, quality fly-fishing lake. Anglers interested in fishing Ebey Lake contact WDFW and/or DNR only to discover there is no legal access to the lake. There have been confrontations between landowners and fishermen attempting to access the lake.

Describe their support and/or concerns:
WDFW staff and DNR staff support this change. The Evergreen Fly-fishing Club is opposed to removing fly-fishing only rules on Ebey Lake until an alternative and accessible water is being managed as a quality fishing destination. They were informed of the public process for commenting.

Submitted by: WHITNEY, JENNIFER — ,

Date submitted: 06/15/2012

WDFW Rule Proposal Recommendation

Recommended for Public Comment Reference ID: DFW566319

Rule Change Recommendation Short TitleChange Ebey Lake fishing rules

Rules CategoryPuget Sound Region Freshwater

Type of Rule Change ProposalRecreational

County or Location InformationSnohomish County

Short DescriptionChange to statewide freshwater general rules and remove from the Westside Lakes special rules section of the regulation pamphlet.

ExplanationHistorically, Ebey Lake was managed as a quality fly fishing destination lake. DFW last stocked the lake in 1999 with 2000 cutthroat fry. There are two separate private properties that anglers must cross to access this lake. The entire shoreline of the lake is privately owned. Angler access to the lake was permitted historically by an agreement between WDFW and the shoreline owner for “use limited to fishermen only & only in season” but the agreement expired in 1962 according to WDFW records. The road that accesses Ebey Lake crosses private property and has been gated by the landowners. Including Ebey Lake under the Westside lakes special rules section of the pamphlet gives anglers a false impression that this is an accessible, quality fly fishing lake. Anglers interested in fishing Ebey Lake contact DFW and/or DNR only to discover there is no legal access to the lake. There have been confrontations between landowners and fishermen attempting to access the lake.